Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
The present disclosure relates to pipe and tubing expansion tools and methods. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to PEX (cross-linked polyethylene) expansion tools that utilize a multi-segment expansion head, and an auto-rotation feature.
Polymer tubing is gaining popularity in residential home and commercial building construction due to the rising cost of copper pipe. One of the more common types of polymer tubing is made from cross-linked polyethylene, commonly known as PEX. Polymer tubing is connected to a joint by expanding the mouth of the tubing, thus allowing the tubing to slip over the joint. The tubing is then secured to the joint by crimping the expanded part of the tubing. A typical building will have many joints; hence installation of the tubing involves expanding the mouths of numerous tubes.
Further, repair work or installation work on tubes such as PEX pipes typically require a technician to use an expanding tool in a plurality of different locations and orientations. For instance, a tube may be positioned above or below a user, and the end of the tube to be expanded may be positioned at numerous angles with respect to the user (and thereby with respect to the expanding tool). For example, pipes or tubes that a technician is repairing or installing may be located at or near the floor, at or near the ceiling, and/or on a sidewall. Other examples are possible as well. Further, the pipes or tubes may be arranged in numerous different orientations. For example, the end of the pipe may be facing vertically downwards, vertically upwards, longitudinally to the left, longitudinally to the right, or at many other angles. Yet still further, when installing or repairing pipes or tubes, a technician often needs to work in tight or compact spaces (e.g., so as to access a pipe located in a tight or compact space).
Existing tools for expanding the end of a pipe or tube have a number of drawbacks. For example, existing tools are often limited in the number of orientations at which the user may use the expanding tool. In particular, existing tools are often limited in the number of orientations at which the user may comfortably and/or successfully operate the tool. Another example drawback of existing expanding tools is that the existing tools are often too large (e.g., bulky) to be used in compact spaces in which a technician may be operating the tool.